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¶ … population" by Thomas Malthus

Thomas Malthus, in his discussion of the relationship between population increase and food supply in "An essay on the principle of population," proposed that his essay was an attempt to provide an explanation, though a speculative one, of the nature of the growth of human society in terms of its population and food supply. Working on the assumption that "population must always be kept down to the level of the means of subsistence," Malthus tried to bring forth his argument and position that this assumption was an ideal one. In fact, this assumption was proven not applicable with the histories of early societies in the Eastern and Western nations, as what Malthus proves in his discussion, wherein he stated that as the population increases geometrically, food supply increases arithmetically.

In proving his thesis, the author sets out to discuss the basic principles which he had used as foundation in building his argument. In the first chapter of his essay, Malthus provides two important postulata that were the primary basis for his theory: (1) that food is necessary to the existence of man and (2) that the passion between the sexes is necessary and will remain nearly in its present state. These postulata were related to each other, in that "the power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man." These basic principles have indeed become useful in putting forth his thesis. As he argues in the succeeding chapters in his essay, human society had shown throughout history that the changes in population were primarily motivated by the presence or absence of food supply in a specific geographic location. He then traces the history of the increase in population and its relation with food supply, as well as examples of nations who have manifested these changes throughout their history of existence.

With the position that "population, when unchecked, increased in a geometrical ratio, and subsistence for man in an arithmetical ratio," Malthus discusses in numerical terms what he meant by this thesis. Using the U.S. experience as an example, he proved how the country has, despite its unchecked population, had doubled its population every 25 years, which is a geometrical ratio when compared to its previous populations. This observation is best analyzed when the context in which the U.S. population grew -- that is, the social and economic factors that existed in the country during the time of its noted increase in population. The geometric increase of the U.S. population was triggered under the following socio-economic conditions: "subsistence has been more ample" and "checks to early marriages fewer." In fact, this description illustrates nations who are at the early stages of development, a phase wherein both population and food supply increases at the same rate. However, as the trend over time illustrates, this pattern of population and food supply increase will progress toward the fulfillment of Malthus' position, wherein there will come the time wherein the food supply will become insufficient to satisfy the people's (population's) needs.

Tracing the early history of human societies, Malthus brings back into focus the early human societies of hunter-gatherers. From this example of a human society in its early stages of population development, he created a scenario that showed how population increase became inevitable to a society that has 'ample' food supply. As a result of 'greater ease' of living, that is, having sufficient food supply to survive, people of the early human societies have 'extended' its population, wherein "more frequent and rapid change of place" and "wider and more extensive territory occupied" occurred. This change happens, however, if the population goes unchecked; otherwise, if "actual population is kept equal to the means of subsistence," then population and food supply relationship patterns would cease to exhibit Malthus' thesis. But this scenario is often the exception than the case.